


Bitter truths

by Azazel_Shaaryn



Series: Destiny [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Destiny, Gen, Gotham City is Terrible, Love/Hate, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-19 00:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22468756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azazel_Shaaryn/pseuds/Azazel_Shaaryn
Summary: When Oracle goes through the batcave surveillance feed, what she find is enough to send Nightwing talk to their old mentor. What he has to say on the matter may not be what they want to hear.
Relationships: Batman/Joker (DCU, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne
Series: Destiny [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616557
Comments: 9
Kudos: 88





	Bitter truths

The cave went on what seemed like infinite darkness above their heads, covering up the bats rustling their wings and chirping. The animals had been there long before Batman came and installed his lair, they would probably be there and continue to prosper as the hero’s corpse rotted somewhere in the foul air of Gotham. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, he wasn’t here to brood like his teacher always seemed to.

As he looked forward, he could see the man in his costume, sitting straight into the chair in front of the dozens of computers screens. Watching the city maw its habitants and keeping tabs on the multiples villains that plagued the streets every night.

“Batman.”

His head barely turned toward him as he answered.

“What is it Nightwing ? It is rare to see you out of Blüdhaven nowadays.”

 _And even rarer to see you out of the mask_ thought the former Robin. Bruce seemed to have faded as the years passed, his age making it easier to be out of the spotlight as the golden child of Gotham was now a discreet benefactor behind charities and GCPD projects.

His meager communication with Alfred several years ago had painted a bleak picture already.

The symbol of Batman, a monster in its own right, had devoured more of Bruce than they had ever been permitted to know. He sometime wondered if he would wake up one day to see the headlines announcing Bruce Wayne “death” while the man kept on fighting crimes free of the persona that was more of mask than the Dark Knight.

His children, apprentices and allies had been the only things keeping the personality of Bruce tethered to his self, now that he was alone – Alfred dead of old age 3 years ago – nothing kept him from being the Batman and only it.

“Have you talked to Barbara lately ?” _To any of us ?_

Nightwing seemed to have his attention this time, his fingers stopped hitting the keyboard and his head turned completely toward him. Batman seemed to now wear exertion like a cloak, a heavy mantle bloodied by years of fights, losses and victims he couldn’t save.

“No, I haven’t. None of you want much to do with me.”

He kept himself from wincing, Gotham had been a harsh mistress for them all and Batman an easy beast to blame. Tim had disappeared under Barbara guidance, retiring from the front lines while Damian had one day knocked on his door in Blüdhaven and never leaved. The less said or thought about Jason the better.

“Well I did recently, and what she had to say wasn’t pleasant to hear.”

Batman heaved a sigh as he rose from the chair to face him. Even in the light of the batcave he seemed draped in shadows, a ghost in a shell of flesh and blood.

“Get to the point Dick, what do you have to say ?”

“What have you been doing with the Joker ?”

The man he once saw as a father figure stilled unnaturally and kept silent for several long seconds.

“What do you mean ?”

Anger rose like a sharp blade.

“What do I mean ? I don’t know, maybe what does it mean that Barbara found eleven instance of him being in the batcave on this year only ? It’s barely may, what the fuck Bruce !”

The corners of his mouth downturned.

“She had no right to these files.”

In another time it would have been enough to stop him, to seal his mouth. To anger or disappoint Batman had been terrifying as a youth, the weight of what he was, of the heroship they had all suffered from. Now, it just angered him.

“Really, that’s what you get from this ? She shouldn’t have snooped ?” He had gone closer as he talked and his right hand slapped the table interface. “Be happy she didn’t send the files to the JLA ! I saw the videos, the madman looks at home here. The times where you get him here, unconscious, to patch him up before putting him in Arkham because you went berserk on him, I get it okay, I know how it is. But the times where he gets out of the batmobile as he pleases while you watch him go around and laugh, and you fucking talk like old friends. I can’t bear it. Not with all he’s done to us, to you.”

Nightwing took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“That’s what I mean, so now I would like an explanation on what is going on and for how long it has, before I decide to think the insanity of this city has finally got to you too.”

Silence stretched. Nightwing decided to wait it out, knowing that to insist more would just be making sure he would hit the wall of his former mentor mind head first and be severely pushed back.

“Did you know that I almost died last year ?”

The former Robin felt his eyes widen. _What ?_

“A new villain had appeared, I couldn’t find anything on him. We fought. He had very competent goons, advanced weapons and prior knowledge of me. He got me by surprise.”

All of his body had stilled, caught between horror and disbelief while he listened. Where was this going ?

“They surrounded me and a round from upfront broke the upper part of my armor, peeled back some pieces. He cut my throat from behind. Not deep enough to kill me quickly but it was sufficient to trust that I wouldn’t be able to survive it. Enough to let me escape when I did. So I laid on the ground, alone in an abandoned building and I … fell asleep.”

“God … what are saying Bruce ? Why didn’t you tell us ?”

Batman cut him off with a stern look.

“Did you want to know ? None of you wanted anything to do with me, even before Alfred was gone. But that’s not the point, it’s that I shouldn’t have opened my eyes ever again.” He shook his head slightly. “I always knew how it was, but I never really realized before that. When I woke up, almost a week had passed. I was weak but patched up, just healed enough to be able to go home. There was a Joker card on my torso and the body of the villain dangling from the ceiling.”

Dick started to see where this was going. He couldn’t think.

“He was my first villain. I participated in him becoming what he is. He was always saying how we were going to do this forever, how we were the only one we really had. I guess I realized he was right.”

Batman turned away, offering his profile, as if he couldn’t bear to say this to his face.

“He saved my life. I had saved his several times before but it wasn’t the same proof, didn’t have the same weight.” He closed his eyes. “I’m alone Dick, and this city eats me alive. He is the only thing that keeps me waiting, that make my blood burn. I’m a cold monster and he’s the only thing that keeps the beast at bay even though he provokes it constantly.”

“He did something to you.” It was hard to keep his voice from wavering.

“You know that’s not it. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear but this is the cold truth of Gotham. It has always been Batman and the Joker, I just stopped being in denial.”

“I can believe what you’re saying, do you hear yourself ?” The crushing feeling of powerlessness born from the conversation was ebbing back to let anger take its place. “Does that mean he knows who you are ? Who we all are ? Don’t you have any care for what he did to Jason ?”

Batman turned back to him in an abrupt move, cape flying behind him, eyes hard.

“Don’t think I have forgotten anything ! But he has known who I am for decades and we’ve all made mistakes.”

_He knew who you were ? He knew and you never told us ? Never said that one day we could wake up in our beds to blood and shrilling laughs ? And …_

“… mistakes ? Are you calling beating Jason to death and blowing him up a … mistake ? Is that what you think about what he did to Barbara too ? I can’t look at you right now.”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“What a surprise here ! I’m out of here, go live your myth with the fucking clown but do not dare trying to contact me or Damian ever again, you won’t like my answer.”

He went back toward his vehicle, parked near the cave entrance.

“Dick.”

“Shut the hell up” He yelled as he threw a furious glare to the man who was calling him but hadn’t made a move to keep him here. He went into the car abruptly, feeling the need to hurt something.

The engine roared back to life and Nightwing felt a vicious satisfaction knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hear anything more. The ride out of the batcave had never felt this bitter.

In the cave Batman sat back heavily in his chair, sitting in silence for what felt like hours, body and mind like lead.

Behind a pillar, a lithe figure slunk out of the shadows to stand behind him. Placing his hands on Batman shoulders, pressing slightly, the man put his face next to the vigilante ear, poisonous green eyes fixed on his face.

“That was … very touching.” He whispered before cracking into uneven giggles. “Don’t worry my bat, your little ones will flock back. In the meantime, you and I can have fun !”

His body straightened suddenly before he ran away from the computer.

“Come on love ! Come play with me !” When the bat made no move, he grinned from ear to ear. “I know you must want to after all this talk about my naughty naughty _mistakes_.”

Batman stood up and turned slowly to him, violence filling his lungs. The other man irrupted into crazed, pleased laugher at that as he ran into the darkness.

“That’s it come to me, darling !”

The man, maybe not Bruce, not ever Bruce anymore, felt something in him straighten as his heart began to beat again. The chase was on.

**Author's Note:**

> My first try at the Batman Universe, I'm thinking of making a serie out of this I have several ideas. I hope it was okay, Nightwing is hard to write as I don't know the character that much.


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